Down comes the house that Sandy built: Cottage that became symbol of hurricane is bulldozed as America moves on

Down comes the house that Sandy built: Cottage that became symbol of hurricane is bulldozed as America moves onPrincess Cottage in New Jersey is razed to the ground in just 15 minutesThe house had remained standing despite being ripped in half by the winds150-year-old waterfront property is one of 50 in the area being demolished

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UPDATED:

11:18 GMT, 24 December 2012

The waterfront house that became the symbol of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy has been torn down.

Princess Cottage in New Jersey had been ripped in half by the devastating winds that battered the east coast of the United States in October.

A bulldozers finished the job on Friday, tearing down the 150-year Front Street house in the seaside town of Union Beach.

Still standing: The image of the house in Union Beach ripped in half by the winds became a symbol of Sandy

Razed: The home was demolished because its owners could not raise enough money to salvage the house

Demolition took just 15 minutes and was witnessed by John Zois, who had lived at the house for six months prior to Sandy.

Engineers had told him the house could be saved but he was unable to raise the money needed for its restoration, despite a public appeal.

He told Howell Patch: 'It's stood as a symbol, I think in a small way. It certainly helped to get a lot of attention to the town, a lot of aid to the town, which is good.

'And it's a symbol, I think, of a resilience to the hurricane. Obviously it's coming down today but this house stood, only maybe half of it but it's still there and we're still here.

Coming down: It took a single bulldozer just 15 minutes to raze the house to the ground

New start: The owners of Princess Cottage plan to rebuild a house on the waterfront site

'That's all I can say really. It's time for it to come down, move forward, rebuild and start a new chapter.'

He added: 'I don't want this. I would rather if I was going to be on TV and part of history, I would have refered it to be for something good but, it's a part of like it or not and we have to make the most of it.'

Mr Zois' father Constantine, who
owned the house, told Asbury Park Press the family plan to build another
house on the site but said it will not be an exact replica of Princess
Cottage.

He said he knew the house would have to come down, and added: 'I was hoping against hope that I was dead wrong.'

Calm before the storm: Princess Cottage in Front Street, Union Beach, before Sandy

Resilience: The house remained standing despite half of the building being blown down by Sandy

Eye-catching: The striking image of the damaged home helped bring much-needed aid into the area

John Zois continued: 'To see my home away from
home, which became my home, destroyed like this – it's hard to take,
it's just hard to take.'

The three-storey building remained standing despite the damage for two months after the storm, with its roof incredibly in tact.

But Princess Cottage is one of around 50 properties in the area whose owners have agreed to raze to the ground.

Hurricane Sandy caused widespread destruction across the eastern United States and parts of the Caribbean – killing more than 250 people and causing 65.6 billion dollars worth of damage.

Fond farewell: John Zois lived in the family's 150-year-old house before the hurricane

Symbol: 'It's time for it to come down, move forward, rebuild and start a new chapter'

Trail of destruction: Princess Cottage is one of 50 properties in the area having to be demolished